Ollie's Candy to remain in training in 2020

ARCADIA, Calif. – Ollie’s Candy, fourth-place finisher in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Saturday, will race as a 5-year-old in 2020 and begin the season as the top-ranked older filly and mare in California.

Owners Paul and Karen Eggert decided to withdraw Ollie’s Candy from the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale that begins Nov. 6 and instead will keep Ollie’s Candy in training next year with John Sadler. Paul Eggert confirmed the decision Sunday via text.

Sired by Candy Ride and produced by graded stakes winner Afternoon Stroll, Ollie’s Candy emerged this year as one of the top fillies and mares in California. She won the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch at Del Mar, sandwiched around in-the-money finishes in graded stakes on turf and dirt.

Ollie’s Candy, who is named for the Eggert’s youngest daughter Olivia, has won four races and $576,151 from 10 starts. The Eggerts purchased the dam of Ollie’s Candy while she was in foal carrying Ollie’s Candy, and are listed officially as her breeders.

The decision to race Ollie’s Candy as a 5-year-old next year is not surprising. She has raced only 10 times, runs on any surface, and will campaign in a California distaff division that is relatively shallow. Grade 1 winner Secret Spice, ninth in the Distaff, is scheduled to be sold this fall at auction. The status of Distaff last-place finisher Paradise Woods is pending.

While immediate racing plans for Ollie’s Candy are undetermined, a natural long-range target is the 2020 BC Distaff at Keeneland in which Ollie’s Candy would try to emulate this year’s Distaff winner. Blue Prize finished fourth in the 2018 Distaff at Churchill Downs, and won it in 2019 at Santa Anita.